Method to increase server&#39;s density in datacenter

ABSTRACT

A method. A cooling fluid flows through a flexible tube into each rack container including a plurality of rack units via a cooling conduit that encapsulates the flexible tube and is secured at a first port on a top surface of each rack container. The rack units are stacked in a direction parallel to a floor. The cooling conduit includes a first segment, a second segment, and a third segment. The first segment is linked to, perpendicular to, and in direct physical contact with, the second segment through a first articulation. The second segment is linked to, parallel to, and in direct physical contact with, the third segment through a second articulation. The first and second articulations are configured to rotate horizontally in a plane parallel to the floor to enable the flexible tube to maintain smooth contact with the top surface of each rack container.

This application is a continuation application claiming priority to Ser.No. 15/486,377, filed Apr. 13, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,894,806, issuedFeb. 13, 2018, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 15/374,061, filedDec. 9, 2016, U.S. Pat. No. 9,706,686, issued Jul. 11, 2017, which is acontinuation of Ser. No. 14/989,423, filed Jan. 6, 2016, U.S. Pat. No.9,549,489, issued Jan. 17, 2017, which is Divisional of Ser. No.13/376,695 filed Dec. 7, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 9,282,683, issued Mar. 8,2016.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to datacenter and moreparticularly to a system to increase server's density in datacenter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A datacenter is a facility used to house computer systems and associatedcomponents, such as telecommunications and storage systems. It generallyincludes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant datacommunications connections, environmental controls (air conditioning,fire suppression, etc.), and special security devices. Datacentersconcentrate large numbers of processing systems within a small area inorder to provide an efficient and optimal environment to operate thesystems. Power, cooling and other management services can be providedmore efficiently in a datacenter than if the systems were decentralized.

Continuing demands for increasing processing system capacity requirethat the datacenter must be designed for efficient power management,thermal management, configurational flexibility, and maintenance. Thesecompeting design considerations have led to the development of numeroussystems, but the most common of these systems include the use of racksthat support large numbers of components and are arranged side by sidein rows.

In a typical datacenter as illustrated on FIG. 1, adjacent rack rows areplaced face to face or back to back in order to create alternate hotaisles and cold aisles. Cold air pushed in the raised floor by thecooling system is supplied in the cold aisles in between of to adjacentrack rows facing each other through perforated floor tiles. Cold air iscollected by the cooling fans of equipment in the racks and is expulsedat the back of the rack row in the hot aisles where two adjacent rackrows are back to back. Hot air is collected in the ceiling andcirculates back to the cooling system. Alternating hot and cold aislesenable relatively efficient air flow management and cooling, whileproviding access aisles along the front and back of each row of racks tofacilitate installation, reconfiguration and maintenance.

The aisles between the racks have a second function which is to allowpersonal circulation between the racks to gain access to the equipmentfor installation and maintenance operations.

Buildings are expensive, and machine room space is costly for companies.There is always the concern to reduce this cost by increasing as much aspossible the number of machines contained in a given room (the“equipment density” of the room) to gain cost efficiency.

With the common room design as described above, one can noticed thatalthough efficient, there is still a lot of space that is not used forhost equipment. Overall it is around 30% and up to 50% of the floorspace that is not used and cannot be used, as all the aisles, either hotor cold are and must remain free.

However, there remains the need for even more efficient rack systemsthat make more efficient use of the space in a given datacenter whileproviding thermal management and configurational flexibility.

It would be desirable to have more efficient rack systems that utilizemany standardized components, such as motherboards, hard disk drives,and PCI cards.

It would be even more desirable to have rack systems that increase thedensity of the processing system without overloading existing coolingsystems.

The present invention offers such solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantagesare provided through the provision of the system of the presentinvention. The system is made of a mobile closed container thatcomprises flexible tubes for power distribution, network connection andair circulation within the container.

Accordingly, a first object of the invention is to provide a moveablecontainer including one or more racks locations to house a pluralityservers. The container is closed to have an inside air circulation tocool the equipment of the racks.

The moveable container is further equipped with wheels to allow easymoving of the container.

The moveable container also supplied in network connection, powerdistribution, and air circulation with a flexible arrangement.

It is another object of the invention to provide a datacenter structurehaving an increased density of servers in the machine room.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a datacenter whereinall rack containers are placed aside each other without the need to keepfree aisles between the racks rows.

The present invention provides a system that offers an easyaccessibility to racks for maintenance purpose in a dense machine room.The mobility of the system of the invention allows removing freecorridors previously required for maintenance and security access.

A major advantage of the system of the present invention is to allow abetter optimization of the space used in a datacenter.

Accordingly, there is provided a system as further described in theappended independent claim.

In a preferred embodiment, a container for housing one or more heatgenerating components comprises supplying means secured at an inner portof the container for supplying at least a cooling material inside thecontainer to cool the heat generating components, and exhausting meanshaving one end secured at an outer port for exhausting hot materialresulting from the cooling material passing through the container. Thecontainer is further equipped with moving means secured to the containerto allow displacement of the container. The supplying and exhaustingmeans comprise flexible extensible portions adapted to flexibly extendwhen moving the container.

Further embodiments are described in the appended dependent claims.

Further aspects of the invention will now be described, by way ofpreferred implementation and examples, with reference to theaccompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other items, features and advantages of the invention willbe better understood by reading the following more particulardescription of the invention in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a prior art datacenter;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a rack container in a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a rack container in a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the air supplying conduit in apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of the air supplying conduit in apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a datacenter in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the racks containers of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a datacenter in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the racks containers of the presentinvention in a maintenance mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are described herein after by way ofexamples with reference to the accompanying figures and drawings.

As used herein, the terms “electronics rack”, “rack-mounted electronicequipment”, and “rack unit” are used interchangeably, and unlessotherwise specified include any housing, frame, rack, compartment, bladeserver system, etc., having one or more heat generating components of acomputer system or electronics system, and may be, for example, a standalone computer processor having high, mid or low end processingcapability. In one embodiment, an electronics rack may comprise multipleelectronics subsystems, each having one or more heat generatingcomponents disposed therein requiring cooling. “Electronics subsystem.”refers to any sub-housing, blade, book, drawer, node, compartment, etc.,having one or more heat generating electronic components disposedtherein. Each electronics subsystem of an electronics rack may bemovable or fixed relative to the electronics rack, with the electronicsdrawers of a multi-drawer rack unit and blades of a blade center systembeing two examples of subsystems of an electronics rack to be cooled.

Reference is made below to the drawings, which are not drawn to scalefor reasons of understanding, wherein the same reference numbers usedthroughout different figures designate the same or similar components.

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of datacenter room layout 100 typical ofthe prior art. In this layout, multiple electronics racks 110 aredisposed in one or more rows. A computer installation such as depictedin FIG. 1 may house several hundred, or even several thousand,microprocessors. One or more cooling units (112) push chilled air (114)into a raised floor. Air (116) goes out of the raised floor throughperforated tiles (118) located at the front of the rack rows. Chilledair is pulled into the racks by equipment ventilation and goes out ashot air (120) at the back of the rack rows and then is collected in theceiling. The machine room is organized with cold aisles (122) and notaisles (124) to avoid the mixing of not and cold air flows which wouldreduce the cooling efficiency. The hot air (126) is ultimately pumped bythe cooling units (112) and cooled again for a new cycle.

With reference to FIG. 2, there is depicted a front view of a rackcontainer (200) as used in a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. The rack container (200) allows housing a plurality of rackunits (202). Several types of heat generating devices (204) (e.g.servers, routers . . . ) may be placed in each rack unit (202). Eachheat generating device (204) generates heat while in operation. The rackcontainer (200) is further equipped with wheels (206). The wheels areadapted to roll on a supporting structure (208) such as rails in thefloor.

An air supplying conduit (210) is a cooling conduit that is secured atan inner port on a top surface of the rack container allowing coolingmaterial (i.e., a cooling fluid) such as cold air (212) to enter therack container (200) via the cooling conduit and pass through to coolthe internal components. The top surface of the rack container (200) isa surface that is further from the floor than is any other surface ofthe rack container (200). The cooling material is configured to beheated by absorbing heat from the heat generating device (204). The airsupplying conduit is preferably a flexible extensible tube as it will bedetailed later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

Power supply and network connections are provided on a flexible powerand network cable (214) which enters the rack container at an innerpower and inner network ports to supply power to the heat generatingdevices (204). In the preferred embodiment, the inner power and networkports are located on the upper side of the rack container, but anyalternative that would not prevent displacement of the rack containermay be devised.

An exhaust air conduit (216) is an exhaust conduit that is secured at anouter port on a top surface of the rack container allowing the heatedcooling fluid such as hot air (218) to exhaust from the rack container(200). The exhaust air conduit is preferably a flexible extended tube asit will be detailed later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

For clarity reasons only one instance of the air supplying conduit(210), the flexible cable (214) and the air exhausting conduit (216)have been represented on FIG. 2, but the person skilled in the art wouldeasily understand that as alternative embodiments, the present inventionmay comprise several of each such conduits or cable.

The racks container is a closed system to allow the cold and hot airflows inside the container. Referenced by numerals on FIG. 2 but notdetailed are sliding doors (220) to open the container to allow accessto the equipment (e.g., heat generating devices (204)) located insidethe container. Form and size of the doors are not part of the inventionwhich may accommodate to any variation without departing from the scopeof the invention.

While the preferred embodiment is described with air being the coolingmaterial (i.e., cooling fluid) flowing through the container to cool theheat generating components, it is not to be interpreted as a limitationand other cooling material may be used as fluid material. Thus in oneembodiment, the cooling material is not air. The present inventionprovides a container for housing heat generating components comprisessupplying means secured at an inner port of the container for supplyingcooling material inside the container to cool the heat generatingcomponents, and exhausting means having one end secured at an outer portfor exhausting hot material resulting from the cooling material passingthrough the container. The container is further equipped with movingmeans secured to the container to allow displacement of the container.The supplying and exhausting means comprise flexible extensible portionsadapted to flexibly extend when moving the container.

Going to FIG. 3, a top view of the rack container of the presentinvention is shown with same reference numbers for same components asused in FIG. 2. Illustrated on FIG. 3 are locations for the airsupplying conduit (210) and the air exhausting conduit (216). In apreferred embodiment, the conduit (210) is located opposite to the airexhausting conduit (216). As exemplified, the air supplying conduit(210) is located at the front side of the rack container to have thearriving cold air naturally flowing through the inside components tocool them. The air exhausting conduit (216) is preferably located at theback side of the rack container to exit hot air.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the air supplying conduit in apreferred embodiment of the present invention. The air supplying conduitcomprises an articulated arrangement (402, 404, 406) which encapsulatesa flexible tube (412). The articulated arrangement comprises a firstsegment (402) linked to a second segment (404) through a firstarticulation (408). The second segment (404) is linked to a thirdsegment (406) through a second articulation (410). The first and thesecond articulations (408, 410) are chosen to allow horizontal rotationsof the first and the second articulations (408, 410) (i.e., rotations ina plane parallel to the floor) to enable the flexible tube to maintainsmooth contact with the top surface of the rack container (200), as itwill be further detailed in FIG. 5. It will be appreciated that the sizeand length of the segments may vary depending on several factors such asthe size of the machine room, the size of the racks container and sowithout departing from the scope of the present invention. Thearticulated conduit allows to encapsulate a portion of the flexible tube(412) in which the arriving cooling air flows. The flexible tube issecured to the rack container (200) an air supplying port (414).

Going to FIG. 5 a schematic top view of the air supplying conduit in apreferred embodiment of the present invention is presented.

As already mentioned, the air conduit includes an articulated arm toallow easy moving of the racks container. The doted circles shown onFIG. 5 exemplify tie rotations of the articulations (408, 410) therebyallowing the flexible tube to keep smooth contact during the rackcontainer displacement.

It is to be appreciated that while the air supplying conduit has beenshown and described herein, the same structure may apply to the airexhausting conduit. The two conduits may be either strictly identicalconduits in size, form and material or may have respectively anyvariation in one or more of those parameters.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a datacenter in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the present invention. For simplicityonly four racks containers (A, B, C, D) are shown but this is not to beinterpreted as a limitation of the layout of datacenters implementingthe racks containers of the present invention. In one embodiment, thedatacenter may include a plurality of rack containers (e.g., A, B, C,D). Grey arrows illustrate the cool arriving air flows (602) while blankarrows illustrate the hot exit air flows (604) collected within eachindividual racks container. For clarity of the figure, the flexibletubes and the air conduits are omitted on each racks container. Thebenefit of the present invention becomes apparent as allowing pushingeach racks container close together, side by side. Instead of losingfree space as with previous layouts, mainly space lost for the hotaisles and the cold aisles, there remains only the need to keep free theplace for the displacement of one rack container. The density ofdatacenters using the structure of racks containers of the presentinvention is much higher than with commons machine rooms design.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a datacenter in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the racks containers of the presentinvention in a maintenance mode. In any case of failure or alertdetected on one rack inside a rack container (A, B, C, C) that requiresa maintenance operation is easy to handled with the present structure asillustrated by the operator accessing a failed rack in container C. Inthe proposed example, container D is moved along the rails (208) to freespace between containers C and D thereby getting access to therespective failed rack in container C. The rack units (202) are stackedin a direction 221 that is parallel to the floor. The rails (208) areoriented in a direction 222 that is parallel to the floor and isperpendicular to the direction 221. The wheels (206) (see FIG. 2)positioned on the supporting structure (e.g., rails 208) are configuredto move along the supporting structure in the direction 222 to enableadjacent rack containers (e.g., C and D) to move closer to or furtherfrom each other. The cooling conduit (210) and the exhaust conduit (216)of each rack container (200) are configured to flexibly extend inresponse to each rack container (200) moving along the supportingstructure in the direction 222. The operator then opens the rack door(220) and gains access to the inside equipment (204). In alternateembodiments, additional grips may be secured to the container tofacilitate the container movement.

The present invention provides a system. The system comprises aplurality of rack containers and a cooling conduit. Each rack containercomprises a plurality of rack units. The rack units are stacked in afirst direction that is parallel to a floor. Each rack unit comprises atleast one heat generating device. Each heat generating device isconfigured to generate heat while in operation. Each rack container isequipped with wheels positioned on a supporting structure to enable thewheels to move along the supporting structure in a second direction,which enables adjacent rack containers of the plurality of rackcontainers to move closer to or further from each other. The seconddirection is parallel to the floor and perpendicular to the firstdirection. The supporting structure is on the floor and is oriented inthe second direction.

The cooling conduit is secured at a first port on top surface of eachrack container to allow a cooling fluid to flow into said each rackcontainer via the cooling conduit. The top surface is further from thefloor than is any other surface of said each rack container. The coolingfluid is configured to be heated absorbing heat from the at least oneheat generating device.

The present invention provides a method for forming a system.

The method comprises providing a plurality of rack containers. Each rackcontainer comprises a plurality of rack units. The rack units arestacked in a first direction that is parallel to a floor. Each rack unitcomprises at least one heat generating device. Each heat generatingdevice is configured to generate heat while in operation. Each rackcontainer is equipped with wheels.

The method further comprises positioning the wheels on a supportingstructure to enable the wheels to move along the supporting structure ina second direction, which enables adjacent rack containers of theplurality of rack containers to move closer to or further from eachother. The second direction is parallel to the floor and perpendicularto the first direction. The supporting structure is on the floor andoriented in the second direction.

The method further comprises securing a cooling conduit at a first porton a top surface of each rack container to allow a cooling fluid to flowinto said each rack container via the cooling conduit. The top surfaceis further from the floor than is any other surface of said each rackcontainer. The cooling fluid is configured to be heated by absorbingheat from the at least one heat generating device.

It has to be appreciated that while the invention has been particularlyshown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, manyvarious chancres in form and detail may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit, and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, said method comprising: flowing acooling fluid through a flexible tube into each rack container of aplurality of rack containers, each rack container comprising a pluralityof rack units via a cooling conduit that encapsulates the flexible tubeand is secured at a first port on a top surface of said each rackcontainer, wherein the rack units of the plurality of rack units arestacked in a first direction that is parallel to a floor, wherein thecooling conduit comprises a first segment, a second segment, and a thirdsegment, wherein the first segment is linked to, perpendicular to, andin direct physical contact with, the second segment through a firstarticulation, wherein the second segment is linked to, parallel to, andin direct physical contact with, the third segment through a secondarticulation, wherein the first and second articulations are configuredto rotate horizontally in a plane parallel to the floor to enable theflexible tube to maintain smooth contact with the top surface of saideach rack container, wherein the cooling conduit of said each rackcontainer is located at a front side of said each rack container, andwherein an exhaust conduit of said each rack container is located at aback side of said each rack container.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereineach rack unit of the plurality of rack units comprises at least oneheat generating device, said method comprising: each heat generatingdevice of the at least one heat generating device generating heat whilein operation, said cooling fluid being heated by absorbing heat from theat least one heat generating device.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe exhaust conduit is secured at a second port on the top surface ofsaid each rack container, said method further comprising: exhausting theheated cooling fluid from said each rack container via the exhaustconduit.
 4. The method of claim 3, said method comprising: said eachrack container moving along a supporting structure in the firstdirection and in response, said cooling conduit and said exhaust conduitof said each rack container flexibly extending, wherein the supportingstructure is on the floor and oriented in a second direction, andwherein the second direction is parallel to the floor and perpendicularto the first direction.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the exhaustconduit of said each rack container is physically separated from saideach rack unit of the plurality of rack units in said each rackcontainer.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein said each rack unitcomprises a door to enable access to the at least one heat generatingdevice in said each rack unit.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein aflexible power and network cable is coupled to said each rack container,said cable configured to supply power to the at least one heatgenerating device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said each rackcontainer is equipped with wheels positioned on a supporting structureto enable the wheels to move along the supporting structure in a seconddirection which enables adjacent rack containers of the plurality ofrack containers to move closer to or further from each other, whereinthe second direction is parallel to the floor and perpendicular to thefirst direction, and wherein the supporting structure is on the floorand oriented in the second direction.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe supporting structure on the floor comprises rails on the floor. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the top surface is further from the floorthan is any other surface of said each rack container.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the cooling fluid is air.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the cooling fluid is not air.